Hi Tim,
I almost feel like you were on the wrong size bike. I'd be interested to know how you like the XL. I appreciate your honest review and it's great that this bike is being reviewed by someone who can put it through it's paces. I also thought you focused on a lot of small little things that didn't suit your riding or were more a nuisance than a real problem with the Warden. It sounds like Knolly was not keeping this bike in good repair based on all the loose bits and creaking, which is not good for a review bike but at the same time, I don't think that even needs to make its way into the review let alone centre stage. It sets a poor tone for the rest of the review and is more indicative of a bike that's been ridden a lot than a poor product. You wrote more words on tire choice and noisy cables than almost any other aspect of the review. Also, exploding XT derailleurs and failing XT cranks are not par for the course, and should not reflect on the Warden product. I was surprised at the reasonably positive summary at the end given the overall tone of the article where it seemed like everything was wrong with the bike (which is a bit surprising given a pretty solid build curated by Knolly .
On the other hand, I am definitely biased as a Knolly owner/lover and don't love reading poor reviews on one of my favorite brands. So you can take my comments with a grain of salt....
Nov. 14, 2020, 4:13 p.m. - Reed Holden
Hi Tim, I almost feel like you were on the wrong size bike. I'd be interested to know how you like the XL. I appreciate your honest review and it's great that this bike is being reviewed by someone who can put it through it's paces. I also thought you focused on a lot of small little things that didn't suit your riding or were more a nuisance than a real problem with the Warden. It sounds like Knolly was not keeping this bike in good repair based on all the loose bits and creaking, which is not good for a review bike but at the same time, I don't think that even needs to make its way into the review let alone centre stage. It sets a poor tone for the rest of the review and is more indicative of a bike that's been ridden a lot than a poor product. You wrote more words on tire choice and noisy cables than almost any other aspect of the review. Also, exploding XT derailleurs and failing XT cranks are not par for the course, and should not reflect on the Warden product. I was surprised at the reasonably positive summary at the end given the overall tone of the article where it seemed like everything was wrong with the bike (which is a bit surprising given a pretty solid build curated by Knolly . On the other hand, I am definitely biased as a Knolly owner/lover and don't love reading poor reviews on one of my favorite brands. So you can take my comments with a grain of salt....